IMF to Fund Baghdad-Turkey Highway

The Ministry of Construction and Housing is to build a highway linking Baghdad with Turkey, according to a report from Azzaman.

The 508 km road is to be financed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“This project is a challenge to the ministry since it assumes great economic significance for the country,” the ministry quoted minister Mohammed Saheb as saying.

In the 1980s Iraq built a road nearly 1,000 km long linking its southern port of Basra with both Jordan and Syria. The highway to Turkey was planned but it was shelved due to the ruinous 1980-1988 war with Iran.

Once completed, Iraq will have one of the most extensive and modern highways in the Middle East, linking its southern ports and major cities with neighbouring states.